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Is the iPad really killing netbook sales?

Research claims that iPad has pushed netbook sales off a cliff - but does it stack up?

A new piece of research by Morgan Stanley claims that the Apple iPad has cannibalised sales of netbooks.

The research shows that the growth of netbook sales has stalled sharply since the announcement of the iPad in January. While the low-budget laptops enjoyed growth as high as 179% in December 2009, that figure was reduced to only 5% last month.

However, the figures - published in Fortune magazine - show the decline in netbook growth actually started last summer, long before the iPad was even heard of.

In July 2009, netbooks recorded spectacular growth of 641%, declining reasonably steadily to 337% by November and slipping below triple digits by January this year. The figures also fail to take into account the seasonal trend of sales slowing after the busy Christmas period.

This suggests that the decline may simply reflect the maturity of the netbook market, rather than the adverse impact of the Apple tablet.

Nevertheless, Morgan Stanley backs up its claims about the iPad's impact with survey results suggesting that 44% of iPad owners bought the device instead of a laptop. The iPod touch (41%), eBook readers (28%), desktop PCs (27%) and videogame consoles (17%) were also sacrificed for the iPad.

Apple claimed earlier this week that iPad sales had surpassed a million units, reaching that milestone at more than double the pace of the iPhone.

Comments

Came back from the US, willing to buy the ipad if it was an interesting toy! Apple can do design, thats for sure! It's attractive. It's good size and wifi works well... BUT lack of flash was really annoying... and BBC website is my homepage. Acceptable with phones but not with what should be competing with laptops (netbooks). It's heavy. Even cradling in your arms, it's heavy. If it ran osx I could deal with the weight, but as a glorified browser... unacceptable. So I declined. On my flight back I sat next to someone who bought one. He was watching a film and trying to lean the thing on the tray table against the seat. The lady in front moved and bam! On a plane, it's not good. You could carry the cradle but travelling light is high on the agenda for many. I could see this being attractive to people who use computers EXTREMELY lightly... literally light emails and not storing anything.One thing though, the keyboard was actually quite good... as it's a decent size and mistyping was minimal. I appreciate the design and long term it might well be the future but as it is now, it's only fit for Dom Jolly to make his comeback with!

I wouldn't trade my netbook for an iPad, since it can't backup photos to my USB toughdrive and having been burned by Apple's "camera connector" for the iPod - I won't make that mistake again.And swap my eBook reader for a heavier LCD screen I couldn't read in direct sunlight? No. I read my eBook in the bath, and since the "immersion sensor" in the iPhone apparently invalidates warranty from being in a steamy room, I imagine the iPad is the same. Plus, I have not heard anything about eBooks from other sources (than iTunes) being available. The reason I am okay with the iPod/iPhone is that you can load your own CD's and MP3's into iTunes, so I can download music from Play, Amazon, 7Digital etc. being caught in an overpriced monopoly doesn't appeal. If the iPad had a camera, buttons on the rear and a much lower price tag, it would be a serious contender for best mobile gaming platform, but currently it's a jack-of-all, master-of-none device.

Came back from the US, willing to buy the ipad if it was an interesting toy! Apple can do design, thats for sure! It's attractive. It's good size and wifi works well... BUT lack of flash was really annoying... and BBC website is my homepage. Acceptable with phones but not with what should be competing with laptops (netbooks). It's heavy. Even cradling in your arms, it's heavy. If it ran osx I could deal with the weight, but as a glorified browser... unacceptable. So I declined. On my flight back I sat next to someone who bought one. He was watching a film and trying to lean the thing on the tray table against the seat. The lady in front moved and bam! On a plane, it's not good. You could carry the cradle but travelling light is high on the agenda for many. I could see this being attractive to people who use computers EXTREMELY lightly... literally light emails and not storing anything.One thing though, the keyboard was actually quite good... as it's a decent size and mistyping was minimal. I appreciate the design and long term it might well be the future but as it is now, it's only fit for Dom Jolly to make his comeback with!

Well I have an iPad and I'm selling my netbook, so maybe it's true!@cheysuli - if you are using an eBook reader in the bath you are nuts! Also, the iPad has loads of apps for eBooks, including Amazon Kindle and generic readers. The UK bookstore is sure to follow soon.

There is little doubt that the iPad would have a certain amount of sex appeal if you came across it in a store. It's limitations only become apparant after purchase.Given that a lot of computer replacements occur without "need", it is entirely feasible that a consumer may go out plannning to buy a replacement desktop and choose to purchase either a netbook or iPad on the basis if the increased flexibility or convenience.My wife recently purchased a 17" Laptop purely because it had a seperate numeric keypad.Whatever floats your boat is my son's expression for this (though I thought all boats float on water!).

Why does anyone want an iPad with a camera? I can imagine no circumstances where I would carry an A4 size unit for taking snaps or video. The only possible use for a camera on an iPad is a front facing one for video calls, but beyond that, Apple made the right decision not to include one. Missing USB is a big problem though.